


Southern Fruit Blend

by horologiiums



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotions, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Pre-Relationship, mild anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-14
Packaged: 2020-10-17 21:53:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20628119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horologiiums/pseuds/horologiiums
Summary: Over cups of tea brewed from poorly aged leaves, Byleth and Hilda talk about Claude.





	1. Southern Fruit Blend

It was at Hilda’s persistent request that Byleth invited her for afternoon tea. It was midway through the Verdant Rain Moon and the first war council for that week had just come to close when Hilda bounded over to Byleth, insisting that she had something important to discuss with her in private.

Given the state Fódlan was in and the fact that an unknown army was fast approaching Garreg Mach to wage battle, Byleth assumed Hilda needed a moment of peace. Every soldier within the combined army of the Leicester Alliance and Church of Seiros was endlessly preparing for the attack since the month began; it seemed only natural that Hilda needed a break. Byleth wouldn’t deny that she herself was feeling rather exhausted from the constant preparation and strategizing. She decided that she could allow herself a single afternoon tea break before resuming her duties as commander of the army once more.

They headed straight for Byleth’s room after the meeting, only stopping by the dining hall for a quick minute to pick up a small platter of treats and some boiled water for their drinks. Hilda invited herself to one of the chairs in the corner of the room the moment they entered her quarters.

“Any tea in particular?” Byleth asked from over her shoulder, rummaging through the shelves on the top of her desk and extracting the teapot and cups stored away there. She was already familiar with Hilda’s preferences, having had tea with her many times prior, but Byleth thought it safe to ask regardless.

“The southern fruit blend!” Hilda chirped, her choice not surprising in the slightest.

Byleth nodded to herself and pulled out the leaves, dropping a generous amount into the teapot before adding the boiling water. Within a few minutes, the tea was ready to be served.

Byleth sat across from Hilda, placing their cups on the small round table between them. Hilda was quick to express her gratitude and picked up her beverage but the bizarre look of confusion that flashed onto her face halted her actions. Byleth thought about asking if something was wrong but almost as quickly as Hilda’s bewilderment appeared, it vanished and she was smiling once again. She set her cup back down on the tabletop without taking a sip.

The air in the room suddenly felt heavy, and it strangely only felt heavier when Hilda made eye contact with Byleth, her lips still curved upward into her usual cute grin. Byleth felt small under her gaze but she didn’t let it show. “So, what did you want to discuss?” she asked instead, hoping it would alleviate some of the tension.

Thankfully, it did help somewhat, but Hilda’s response to her question caught Byleth slightly off guard. “I want to talk about Claude.”

It wasn’t a joke, Byleth was quick to realize that, but she was still left puzzled. She had expected something along the lines of “I’m too tired to work” or “I can’t wait until this war is over for good” but Hilda wanted to discuss Claude? If she had wanted to talk about him, Byleth figured that it would have been more beneficial had she gone straight to the man himself.

However, when she voiced her concerns aloud, Hilda sighed. “That’s the thing. I can’t talk about Claude _ to _ Claude!” she tilted her head to the side, eyes big and doe-like. “It _ has _ to be you, Professor.”

It had never been easy to understand the way the gears in Hilda’s mind turned, Byleth had learned that in the many years that she had known her. Still, there was no reason to argue with her and Byleth had grown accustomed to becoming a counselor of sorts to her students’ - or rather, former students’ - problems. If anything, she could listen and offer advice as best she could. That alone was usually enough to calm their nerves and racing thoughts.

Byleth simply nodded, urging Hilda to speak her mind. She picked up her tea cup by the handle and took a sip of her drink as she waited but the taste surprised her, almost causing her to recoil away from it. The leaves she had used were known for their sweet, bright flavor but the brew she had made tasted… bitter. Byleth had little issue with bitter tastes, she had never been particularly fussy about food, but it was a definite shame that the leaves she had used were lacking their usual zing.

_ They must be old. _She surmised silently.

Across from her, Hilda also took a sip of her tea, though she seemed completely unfazed by the bitterness.

“Y’know,” she started, pushing a thin strand of hair behind her jeweled ear, “Claude has always had a crush on you.”

Hilda had spoken when Byleth was swallowing a small gulp of tea and she coughed on it lightly as it went down. She hadn’t expected _ that _ to be the topic Hilda couldn’t discuss with Claude but Byleth supposed it made sense. Gossip. Hilda loved gossip and there was little point in gossiping about the person of interest _ with _ the person of interest...

Byleth felt her shoulders fall ever so slightly, thinking about Hilda’s exact words.

_ “A crush on _ you _ .” _

_ I suppose I don’t count. _Byleth was unsure if what she felt was disappointment or not but she knew that she felt gratitude all the same that Hilda had come to her directly about it. She wouldn’t deny feeling curious at her words as well.

A crush? In the days long since passed, Byleth had regularly overheard students teasing each other over their “crushes.” It was a silly, innocent thing, at least that was what Byleth had assumed. She had never been one to care about those things, in fact she often times wondered if she even understood what they meant. She knew what “liking” someone entailed but she was unable to empathize with the notion. But that, too, was something she didn’t often concern herself with.

“What do you mean?” Byleth settled on those words once she regained her composure, Hilda patiently waiting for her small coughing fit to subside.

She didn’t really answer her question when she started again, but Hilda still managed to provide more context to her original declaration. “Well, maybe not on _ you _ as a person, but he’s always had a crush on your… _ mysteriousness _.” Byleth watched as Hilda’s fingers danced over the platter of treats, deciding which one she wanted to take.

Claude had a crush on Byleth’s… mysteriousness? She was unsure if she was following correctly. Crushes were things people had on other people as a whole, not on a single trait someone held. That was what Byleth had figured, anyway. Was there more to crushes than she had originally thought? But more importantly…

_ Why? _ It wasn’t really a regretful thought nor one of disdain. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but something about the thought of Claude - her former student, her trusted ally and fellow commander, her _ friend _ \- having a crush on her “mysteriousness” of all things was… unsettling. It made Byleth’s stomach feel uneasy and caused her chest to ache.

Having successfully picked out a cookie from the tray of sweets, Hilda continued, leaning forward with one elbow on the table so that her chin could rest in her palm. “Back when we were students, he’d _ always _ follow you around when you weren’t looking, mumbling to himself about your _ secrets _.” She scrunched her nose a bit at that and Byleth couldn’t help but think that Hilda looked particularly adorable making that face. “It was pretty creepy, honestly.” She popped the small cookie she held between her fingers into her mouth, crunching it quietly. “Claude has always been a hard guy to grasp, but in some respects, he’s an easy read.” She swallowed and Byleth only watched in silence as Hilda took a sip of her tea, still not reacting to the flavor. She set her cup back down without it making a sound. “And lately, when he’s around you… well, that’s when he’s happiest.”

Hilda was smiling at Byleth again, a kind, genuine expression. She wished that she could return her beam with one of her own but Hilda’s words left Byleth feeling troubled. While it was true that she had issues understanding others’ emotions, let alone her own, Byleth was finally able to discern what the pits forming in her stomach and chest were caused by.

For Claude to only like something about Byleth that she had no control over… Had the only reason why he had stuck around with her, waited for her return for five years, fought alongside her during the war against the Empire… had it really been for nothing besides his own self interest? Was he happiest only because he got to hang around the object of his curiosity every day?

Byleth was aware that Claude had taken an interest in her when she first took the role as professor of the Golden Deer house, he even told her as much. She wouldn’t deny that, at the time, she_ was _ a mystery and it made sense that a mercenary-turned-professor would get a few odd looks every once in a while. Even students following her around, as Hilda had shared Claude was guilty of doing, seemed to make sense.

Byleth was never one to care about the reasons why people liked or didn’t like her, nor did she care about what others thought of her either - of course she never desired to be resented by any of her peers, though there was little point in dwelling on it - but nevertheless, she felt disappointed, confused.

Lonely.

“Claude… says I’m his friend.” She started rather hesitantly, surprising even herself at the sheer lack of confidence in her voice. “I don’t want to believe that he only thinks so because of my… mysteries.”

It wasn’t as though Byleth distrusted Claude. She had put her life in his hands many times before and he had put his own in hers as well. If she were being completely truthful with herself, Byleth would admit that there was no one she trusted more than Claude. While not always directly, they had shared their feelings of mutual faith in one another countless times over tea, after war councils, in the late hours of the night when neither of them could sleep. In his youth, he was admittedly a bit of a scoundrel, always ready to disturb the peace of the classroom with silly jokes or quips but over the course of five years, he had grown into a fine and respectable young man. Realistically, there was nothing to fear, no reason to doubt Claude’s sincerity and friendship, but having a third party sharing her point of view so blatantly with Byleth… Perhaps what she was feeling was also akin to anxiety.

Before she could sink deeper into her negativity, Hilda straightened, waving her hands in front of her face. “Oh, Professor! That’s not what I’m saying at all! Claude _ definitely _ doesn’t feel that way now!”

Byleth didn’t notice her gaze was downcast until she had to lift her head a touch to meet Hilda’s eyes. She looked a bit panicked, as though she had made a mistake. Still, after a bit more of her mildly hysterical arm waving, Hilda managed to relax and she started grinning once again. There was a glint in her eyes, one that hadn’t been there since their time together that afternoon had begun.

The last thing Byleth had figured would come out of Hilda’s mouth when she had told her that she wanted to talk about something in private was Claude gossip. And the last thing Byleth had figured would come out of Hilda’s mouth regarding the Claude gossip was that he had a crush on Byleth.

And the last thing Byleth had figured would come out of Hilda’s mouth when that glint in her eyes suddenly appeared…

“Claude is in_ love _ with you!”

Byleth sat stone faced while Hilda squealed, positively giddy.

Much like crushes, Byleth knew what being “in love” was but she felt that she was unable to truly understand the feelings behind the phrase. If anything, she knew what _ love _ by itself was - she had loved her late father, after all - but loving a family member and being in love with another person were completely different things. It was easy for Byleth to come to terms with the former version of love but the latter remained nothing more than a foggy scenery.

A part of Byleth wondered how Hilda had even come to the conclusion that Claude was apparently in love with her. Had Claude told her? Or had Hilda figured it out on her own? Was there an obvious way to tell if someone was in love and Byleth had always been too detached to pick up on the cues?

Byleth considered those questions for a moment, pondering over them as she stared into her tea. She noticed that alongside the flavor of the drink, even the color appeared to be off. It took on a brown hue as opposed to the light floral pink it usually had. They had definitely been a bad set of leaves.

Hilda had said that Claude was an easy read in some respects, and Byleth was under the impression that love was something personal, too personal to share with others. And Hilda loved gossip. Secretive, sneaky Claude willingly letting social butterfly Hilda in on the fact that he was in love with someone seemed incredibly far fetched.

Byleth also had to consider that Hilda was a bit of a romantic. It was easy to recall Hilda’s excitement over the ball that was held at Garreg Mach many moons ago. Out of everyone in the Golden Deer House, save for maybe Lorenz, she was the most ecstatic to dance around with as many partners as possible.

And despite Hilda’s lazy demeanor back in her days as a student, she was very perceptive. She had always been careful about who she asked for help around the monastery and how to approach each person. She knew everyone’s likes and dislikes, how to get them all wound up and wrapped around her finger. Learning about her peers simply by watching them was one of Hilda’s many hidden talents.

Having organized all of the factors, Byleth concluded that Hilda had figured out on her own that Claude was in love with her.

_ ...Claude is in love with me. _

It had suddenly felt like a pegasus or two had crash landed on top of her, the weight of those words growing increasingly more apparent with every second. Love was a big deal to people, often being deemed as the most powerful emotion a human could feel. She couldn’t argue that belief, as Byleth’s love for her father was indeed the most powerful emotion she could ever recall having. The idea of Claude harboring any sort of love for her...

It was a relief when Hilda started again, her chin now sitting in both of her hands. “You’ve always been a bit aloof, Professor. You always let people come to you with their problems, even if you don’t know how to help them. You do give good _ logical _ advice, I admit, but you can’t connect with anyone on an _ emotional _ level.” There was Hilda’s perceptive nature, Byleth noted. “But you must have seen it. I’ve watched Claude a _ lot _ these past five years…” She smiled but Byleth was still unable to return the sentiment. “You’ve really changed him, Professor. I’m sure he thinks so too. And for him, that makes you irreplaceable.” Hilda reached for another cookie, the same kind she had eaten already.

Byleth had changed Claude and was irreplaceable. It almost felt like Hilda was exaggerating, like she was trying to convince Byleth of something that wasn’t true. But she recalled her prior thoughts about Claude; he was a bit of a troublemaker as a student, never letting anyone get too close to him. But nearing the end of their days at Garreg Mach, before the war began, he had expressed his utmost faith in her. He had called her his friend, but revealed that even “friend” didn’t fully express what she had come to mean to him. And after reuniting at the Goddess Tower, five years later… Byleth could feel the change in him. He had become strong, forward and, while still secretive in his own right, honest.

But had she brought about those changes in him? Or was Hilda merely trying to humor the idea?

The crunch of Hilda biting into her treat brought Byleth out of her reverie. “I mean, you_ must _ have noticed the way Claude is always looking at you, and not in a sneaky way like he did when he was a kid. He gawks at you for everyone to see, Professor! Honestly, I wonder if he even knows he’s doing it, what with how silly he looks.” She put the rest of her cookie in her mouth and sipped her tea. “But y’know, what’s even _ more _ interesting...” Hilda drawled out the word “more” and Byleth suddenly had a bad feeling about where she was going with their conversation, “you look at him the _ exact _same way. All. The. Time.”

Hilda’s ever present smile went from cute and innocent to suggestive and devilish in an instant and it made Byleth feel like a cornered animal.

It couldn’t be that Hilda’s desire to talk in private with Byleth hadn’t been because she had wanted to gossip about Claude, but rather because she had wanted to confront Byleth about her subconscious affection for their mutual friend?

_ No, impossible. _Byleth wasn’t going to allow herself to entertain the thought of being in love with Claude but just as swiftly as she had shut down the notion, she was thinking about it again.

The times they met for tea in the late afternoons were all pleasant memories; Byleth was unable to forget a single one of their exchanges. She could see him in her mind, the way the sunlight filtered in through her uncurtained bedroom windows, the light shining on and illuminating one half of his face. It made the crinkles at the corners of his eyes more noticeable when he smirked at her.

During war council, when he would rise from his chair, demanding everyone to pay closer attention to his tactics and strategies, Byleth always found herself staring at his shoulders. He hadn’t gotten any taller during their five years apart but she could tell that he had become more built. His chest was broader and he generally appeared much more imposing than he had when he was a student. He had become a warrior, a leader.

On nights when neither of them could fall asleep, they would always end up meeting each other on the bridge that connected the cathedral to the rest of the monastery. They would sit on the ground and talk about their days, how training went. Sometimes their conversations would be heavier than other evenings and they would share their troubles and confide in one another. Byleth would always watch his face as they spoke, tired and worn, yet still determined, reflecting his will to do what had to be done.

Byleth trusted Claude. She cared about him. She wanted to stand by his side and walk with him down his path, together.

An unfamiliar ache blossomed where her heart should have been beating and Byleth almost lifted a hand to claw at her chest, but Hilda spoke up again, successfully distracting her from the sensation. “By the way, Professor. I’m almost certain I asked you to brew the southern fruit blend.” One of Hilda’s long, pretty fingers gracefully traced the rim of her tea cup. “This is a pine needle blend.”

Hilda kept grinning even when Byleth felt the blood drain from her face. She hadn’t been paying attention to the smell of their beverages but once the words “pine needle” left Hilda’s lips, the scent was extremely pungent and the taste became starkly apparent on her tongue. She immediately shot her gaze into her own cup.

The bitter flavor. The brown color. The leaves Byleth used to prepare their drinks hadn’t been old, nor had they even been a bad batch of Hilda’s requested choice. She had merely prepared the wrong tea.

Rather, she had merely prepared one of Claude’s preferred teas instead.

_ What a convenient time to make that mistake. _

“I apologize,” Byleth started, beginning to push herself up to a stand with the intent of making the correct tea for her guest, but Hilda only laughed, waving a hand at her.

“Oh, no need for that, I’m not mad!” she gestured for Byleth to sit back down and she reluctantly complied. As soon as she was seated again, however, Hilda herself rose to her feet. “But I think I should go. It seems like you have a lot to think about.” she winked at Byleth and snatched one more cookie off of the treat platter before taking her leave.

Byleth’s room felt strangely empty and quiet without Hilda’s overwhelming presence. She looked back into her cup.

Brewing the wrong kind of tea… It was an easy mistake to make when one wasn’t paying close enough attention to what they were doing or if their mind was elsewhere. Much like how misunderstanding one's own emotions was simple enough to do when they refused to properly take the time to consider them.

She lifted her cup up to her lips and took a sip of her drink, feeling the corners of her mouth turn upward.

_Thank you, Hilda. _ Finally able to offer herself a smile, Byleth savored the acquired taste of the mistakenly brewed pine needle blend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was supposed to be around 1500 words but things got out of hand lol I have this headcanon that Hilda is the one who approaches Byleth & pretty much makes her realize that she loves Claude. & Hilda is quick to pick up on Claude loving Byleth because of that thing she says in her A Support with him, about how he only genuinely smiles around Byleth. Hilda is Claude's best friend & best wingwoman, change my mind. oh & I kinda winged it with the tea flavor lol? I read that pine tea can be citrus-y but it really depends on the needles used so *shrug
> 
> anyway, thanks if you made it this far! I hope you enjoyed it. I'm not terribly proud of this but I'm glad I got it out of my system regardless - writing emotions is hard, since I don't have any myself lol


	2. Bonus

Hilda was on her way to the dining hall when she spotted Claude. He noticed her as well because he halted in his tracks and called out to her, lightly jogging over to where she now stood still. What a delightful surprise, running into the lovesick fool of the hour so soon after dealing with the lovesick professor of the hour.

Hilda smiled in greeting, Claude not even giving her the time to extend her salutations before he started himself. “Hilda, you were with Teach, right?”

Hilda had to fight the urge to laugh. He was such a silly boy, and when it came to his beloved “Teach”, he was so very transparent. “Why do you ask?” She hadn’t intended on mocking him right off the bat but her tone was playful, teasing.

It seemed Claude didn’t take too kindly to that, because she noticed the subtle way his mouth set into a firm line before he spoke again. “I wanted to talk to her about our meeting but you made off with her so quickly, I didn’t even get the chance to approach her.” He paused, looking over her shoulder and in the direction Hilda had come from - in the direction of Byleth’s quarters. “Is she in her room?” he asked, looking back down at her.

Hilda considered herself for a moment and on how she wanted to answer his question. She could tease him by giving him a vague response - “Oh, I don’t know!” - or by simply lying and telling him that she was somewhere else entirely. The thought of Claude running around the monastery searching for Byleth proved to be an amusing one indeed, though she doubted he would easily fall for her fibs. Still, it wasn’t often that Hilda had the opportunity to toy with him and she wanted to take pleasure in the golden occasion.

“She is,” Hilda answered, deciding to go with an honest approach though she wasn’t quite finished, “but I don’t think she’s in the mood to talk to anyone right now.” She spoke in a higher pitch than usual, making sure that her words were dripping with secrecy. She figured that the reaction she would get out of Claude would be most amusing having spoken in such a way.

It was.

At once, his eyebrows knit together and he frowned at her, hard, harder than he had probably intended because the sheer amount of annoyance present on his features looked comically exaggerated. “What? Why?” He fired off two questions at once.

Unfortunately for him, Hilda had no desire to answer either of them. She was going to relish knowing something that Claude didn’t for once. Or perhaps he did know, despite himself. Either way, bullying her sneaky and cunning friend was far too rare of a treat for Hilda to pass up quietly.

“Oh, it’s nothing you need to worry your pretty little head over, old friend!” Hilda reached forward and patted Claude on his shoulder once, twice, before retracting her arm. She made gentle little fists with her hands and put them under her chin, tilting her head to the side ever so slightly. She intentionally widened her eyes, a technique she often used to make herself appear more innocent, and while she would have liked to set her mouth into an adorable pout, she couldn’t resist smirking. “Just leave her alone for now, okay? At least until tomorrow. She’s simply_ exhausted _from all of this war council business.”

With that, Hilda let her arms return to her sides and she strode off passed Claude, resuming her journey to the dining hall.

From behind her, she heard Claude call her name but he made no attempt at actually chasing after her for an explanation - Hilda had reached the dining hall in peace.

_ Now then… _ she looked toward the counter where the chefs were already preparing that evening’s dinner. _ I _ really _ want my tea! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing from a POV that isn't Byleth's is interesting lol I feel like I have to hold back when I write from Byleth's POV because she's pretty chill & lax compared to someone like Hilda. despite how short this is, I had a lot of fun writing from Hilda's perspective!
> 
> thanks if you made it this far & I hope you enjoyed reading about Lady Goneril shipping her OTP lol


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